A Journey to Remember
by A Wild Clover
Summary: The queen's blue eyes lost all of their good-natured look, falling into a despair as she saw scenes that she could not stop dance through her head. It was almost as if they were taunting her. She wanted to belt into a nonstop screaming, fall onto the floor and sob. But what good would that do? Her wavy hair moved side to side as she shook her head, her hand covering mouth.
1. Chapter One

**A/N: Okay, I know that this is going to be really, painfully slow in the first chapter, but I assure you that it will get quicker. Really, I do. I also want to let you know that there is another work that you will see at the end -or if you understand or recognize the clothing and such- but, to hold suspense I can't say that it has this in it. Also, review is love. I really appreciate it. If I have any mispellings please notify me! I like to fix that kind of stuff! (IF YOU FIGURE OUT WHAT THE OTHER ELEMENT IT DO NOT I REAPEAT DO NOT SAY IT IN THE REVIEW IF YOU NEED TO TELL SOMEONE THEN PM ME OR SOMETHING) But I suppose you want to read the damn story so I'll stop with my silly Author's Note ;3**

Her body was shaking, tears streamed down her face. Her eyes were red from lack of sleep -which also explained the dark bags under her eyes- and crying, causing them to be slightly puffy on top of that. She couldn't just start sobbing, someone would hear the poor little heart-broken princess and come running to the rescue. She didn't need that, right now she just wanted to fall into ocean that sourrounded this realm. At least she would die in the peace and quiet and the slow motion of the water. But for now she held a hand over her mouth in some sort of vain attempt to not sob, and dipped her naked feet into the water.

It was relaxing, something that she so desperately needed. She let the rest of her body slip into the water, which reached her neck. Closing her eyes and slowly she went under until her whole body was covered with the salty water. Her eyes flew open and she screamed with all her might into that ocean. It was like a sonic boom. Bubbles flew from her mouth, but along with that it shot of circles of foam that rushed forward in a great hurry. She watched with slight amazment, after all she knew she was capable of such things, she had just never really tried.

She wanted to sigh, but knew that if she did she would drown, and no matter how much that seemed reasonable she just couldn't do it. Her head popped out of the salty water, she rubbed her eyes furiously. Somehow she had forgotten how much the salt burned. Tears rolled down her cheeks unvoluntarily and she tried to blink them away. She got out of the water, closing her eyes and thinking, _yumuri hydo_.

When she had opened them she was as dry like she had never touched the water. Her lips curved upward: that bit of magic trainging with her dark-haired brother was seriously paying off. She looked around her, making sure no one was around to see her just standing there naked by the ocean. (She didn't really care if the Night or Moon saw her, after all they've seen much worse and it's not like they were men.) She bit her lip, silently cursing before her memory seemed to rejoin her.

Waving a hand before her she watched as clothes appeared. Not just any clothes: _journey clothes_. She had waited her entire life to go on this journey. (Although she had never known the reason would be for the death of her kingly father.) She tried to contain the small joy inside of her, she couldn't stop from breaking into a crooked grin.

Swallowing rather loudly, she closed her eyes and walked into the wavering image. It had a sort of golden, floating glow around it. Seeming like it was on an invisible wall with ivy trying to creep up along it. The fabric felt like silk. Comforting, in a strange way.

When her eyes were open she was wearing a blue, long-sleeved shirt that was astonishingly warm (which probably resulted from the soft rabbit fur that lined that inside -her brothers always told her it was cold in the realm she was heading for.). It resembled some higher form of a _kyrtill_. (After listening to her brothers and her father she thought it might be a good idea if people thought she was a young lad.) The pants she wore were made a nice warm brown-colored wool; around her knees all the way down her ankles were deep navy blue wrappings -not only keeping in warmth but the girl found them very cute (these were also wrapped around her arms from her elbows to her wrists); her shoes we made of leather and inlaid with some soft material she really couldn't seem to identify; her cloak was a dark, pitch black color with a pennaular brooch, silver and bronze swirling around it until the two points that were only a few milimeters apart was something that resembled a drinking horn; on her head was a dark red cap with golden thread around the bottom, looking like a thin braid; on her belt she had a drinking horn and an axe holster. The axe in it's holster was a very fine, sturdy one. She pulled it out, studying the intricate designs. Braids, swirls, dragons. It was beautiful, truly.

She ripped her gaze from the axe, her mind wandering to their darkest depths. Depths where she saw her father's dead, glassy eyes stare at nothing. She shook her head, closing her eyes and speaking aloud three words, "_Umo taio huun_."

She didn't know why closing her eyes always helped her magic, perhaps seeing whatever she wanted in her mind materialized the objects. She didn't particularly care at the moment. All she cared about was the map that was floating in the air. She snatched it and rolled it up, walking quietly towards her destination: the Gatekeeper.

Later on...

"You must let me go," the girl said defiantly, not caring whether she was "ready" in mind or body. She was going to the lower realm. "You cannot keep me here. I must go."

The dark-skinned Gatekeeper's golden eyes did not look into her's, his face holding only a look of slight boredom. Finally, he spoke, "Lady Heidi, your father forbid you to-"

"_Well that was before he was murdered in the night_!" She shrieked, trying her hardest not to spit at the Gatekeeper's golden-clad feet.

"That is true." He paused, "I suppose that means that you can, sense there is not longer a king nor his ruling being established."

"Exactly!" she smiled, but it quickly faded, "So why, pray tell, are you forbidding me to go?"

"I know not what realm you wish to go to, Lady Hei-"

"I know you know. I felt you watching me. When I stole the map. You know how hard I worked to do this." He frowned.

"Yes, I suppose I do. You know the consequences, do you not?" Her face brightened at her luck. Who would have known it was so easy to convince him?

"Yes. 'If sucked into a prophecy that involves you, you cannot return until it has been fulfuilled.'" The Gatekeeper nodded, knowing that she knew everything there was to know about the consequences. Asking was simply just his form of dissuading her. She was going to get herself killed, this he knew. But he couldn't just not let her go. He sighed, sliding his sword into it "sheath".

"If you are a threat to this realm then I cannot let you return, either." She whispered something in reply, but he couldn't hear her. Something was wrong. He pulled sword out of it's "sheath".

Heidi was gone

For a moment the Gatekeeper's eyes look emerald, but it was probably just a trick of the light.


	2. Chapter Two: Jack

Jack ran, wanting to scream as loud as he could. Adreneline pumped through his veins, tears tried their best to blur his vision. He had to run. He couldn't stop. If did stop he would die. His legs were like rubber but they kept going forward, he literally couldn't stop.

The beast behind him roared angrily, charging forward. It was the weirdest thing that Jack had ever seen; front half of a horse and back half of a rooster.

_I'm dreaming, I'm dreaming. Seriously. This is a dream. Nothing can really hurt me, right...?_ And with that he slowed, and turned around.

It whinnied furiously and reared up, stomped on his already bruised arm. He heard a crack, and blood spewed from the wound. A pained yell came from his parched throat, echoing through the woods. He tried to get up but couldn't: his freaking _arm_. It was like it was on fire, pain ripping and searing and taking his vision away. Usually he would have been embarassed because of his "girliness", but the tears just wouldn't stop flowing. Again and again it crushed his arm, almost smirking while it did so. Jack's visioin started to fade away when someone came up from behind him and slay the beast.

The girl was hefty, with dark hair. She looked like a blob of bronze and black through jack's hazy vision. His arm pulsed harder and harder every second as the blood spilled onto the terrain. He had never been in so much pain his entire life.

The blob took something bronze-colored from her head and leaned down towards Jack. "Aw, shit..." she mumbled. "Bea, go get the healers! Or Annabeth! I don't think I should just carry him like this!" she paused, glaring at whatever -or whoever- she was yelling at. "_Come on, it's just some blood, get your ass movin'_!"

Jack heard some grass wrestling and heavy feet pounding, heading towards some camp most likely. Not that he could actually think clear thoughts like these, the pain was much too intense. He hadn't even noticed that his ribs had gotten crushed.


	3. Chapter Three: Memories and Hidden Pain

The world was glowing beautifully. Everything was so undescribably wonderful. It was like a faerie realm. The water glowed blue and green, a slight purple edge. Above the girl was glowing bugs, hiding in some orange flowers. Green leafs and stalks waved slightly in a light breeze. The water moved slightly also. Large trees surrounded the celestial pool. Angelic-looking women emerged from the trees, looking worried or frightened or both.

Wait- what?

Heidi practically jumped out of the water, realizing that she was the one that was in it. The women -or girls, rather- backed away, slightly alarmed, looking at the girl's heavy apparal. Even though the water was seemingly cooling, Heidi felt as if her body was on fire. She started to take the thicker layers of clothing off, leaving it in the water.

She looked up, taking off her overshirt. She seemed to think it had a name. The name did not claim itself. Somehow, she felt like that should annoy her. Heidi shook her head, dumping the shirt into the water.

The girls' ran off alerting other trees that starting yelling and knocking on other trees. It was a long chain of yelling women. Heidi was very confused, stepping forward, a wave of dizziness took over her body. She shook her head as stars threatened to take over her line of vision. Had some of the water gotten into her lungs?

Her vision cleared. One of the girls tried to help her up out of the water, but Heidi shoved her off, glaring. Slowly she trudged up onto the bank.

She slipped, not being able to get back up. She was so tired.

_"Never fall asleep when you've knocked your head, Heidi."_ The voice sounded like it right next her ear, whispering urgently. A memory. She knew that voice. It belonged the a boy with dark hair and pale skin. Someone important to her.

All sounds were drowned out. The only thing she could hear was her heartbeat and that sentence over and over and over and over. The voice seemed to lull her to sleep, even though she knew she couldn't. Her head throbbed. She guessed that she had hit it by falling into the small pool that she had emerged from.

Swirls of colors came crashing towards her, confusing her brain. A thousand pictures were forced into the eye of her mind. She almost found the strength to run in the fear of those images. Memories...where was all of this coming from.

Who was she? Where was this? How did she get here? How could...

Her eyelids were closing. She let them, unable to keep them open. Something came trotting towards her, but really she only felt vibrations. Whispers in a whole other language were flowing through her mind. Simple sounds...nervous words. It didn't matter. She didn't care.

A hand was placed on her forhead.

Everything went black.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxX

"Is he going to wake up soon?" An impatient voice sounded by the healer. The healer stared directly in front of the patient. He sighed, turning towards the small girl.

"Alicia. Do you not understand the fact that he has lost a lot of blood and might not even wake up at all and enter a coma that really only demi-gods can wake up from because of their godly blood?" The girl pursed her lips, putting her hand to her chin, mock thought on her face.

"Gee, I never really thought about that. But, because of his _godly blood_," she paused, "shouldn't he wake up already? It's been _two days already_! His stupid blood should make him heal already. How much amobrosia has he had? Well, let's just say that he might be kind of high when he wakes up-"

The healer glared at his assitant, wondering why on Mt. Olympus they had to choose the one little girl that had the patience of an English teacher when you don't understand simply things like question marks? "Now that's enough. Seriously. He'll wake up when it is time. He hasn't even had _that_ much ambrosia. I gave him exactly how much he needed, and that's how much-"

"He got. I know. You have no idea how much you repeat yourself, Caleb." She leaned back, falling on the floor. It always was confusing when there wasn't a back to a chair. But Caleb got the chair because _he_ was the stupid doctor. _Doctor my ass_...she thought, glaring at the chuckling healer. "Hey, you laugh now, but if I ever get mystical powers, I swear to the _gods_ I'll use them on you first!"

His eyes half closed, "I'm terrified. Please, don't do anything too creative."

She glared at him again, "You just wait Mr. Healer. I will get you for all the unjust things you've done to me."

Caleb rolled his eyes, "_Right_. I'm so cruel to you. Poor little baby ginger."

"Hmph!" Alicia said, crossing her arms. She always acted mean around Caleb. Felt like she had to, and Caleb pretty much had some sort of personality disorder. (He acted like this towards everyone.) Alicia stared at the patient, and Caleb followed her gaze. She thought that he had dark skin, but right now it was unnarturally pale. His chest moved up and down though, and that's all that mattered.

She would never admit it -especially to Caleb- but she really cared about people. Death saddened her deeply. She had watched people die before. It was so depressing. It could be you, it could be your father, your mother, your sister...she cringed. No...not now. All she should care about was the patient in front of her.

The other thing she would never admit to anyone and especailly not Caleb was that she loved him. Not like boyfriend and girlfriend love, but like a brother. She had no one left. Only Caleb. She didn't really like anyone in the Hermes house, and hadn't been claimed yet. That was the other thing that made her so cranky. She was overcome with sadness.

But, again, the only thing that mattered -that _should_ have mattered- was the life of the patient her and Caleb were working on.


End file.
